in a tiny town north of waco in just a moment but first we are following breaking news right know san francisco. there is a lot of police activity in the south of market area. let's go over to elizabeth wenger in the traffic center for the latest. >> we have live pictures in an area near downtown san francisco market street. several blocks in the area are taped off. there's a lot of police activity in the area. at this point they are telling people to stay indoors. we saw the san francisco bomb squad out there and you can see where they have the yellow police tape up. some of the streets impacted right now, again about two blocks there along market street, also o'farrell, grant we're hearing of closures as well, near 3rd and mission. we'll watch this throughout the morning. back to you guys. >> thank you. [ sound of explosion ] >> i can't hear! i can't hear! get out of here! >> we are following breaking news in texas where as many as 15 people are feared dead right

now after a huge explosion at a fertilizer plant. hundreds more are injured. it was so powerful, it registered as a 2.1 magnitude earthquake. it happened in the small town of west, texas about 20 miles north of waco. emergency crews worked all night long searching for victims in homes that were leveled. cbs reporter erica ferrari reports some volunteer firefighters are among those feared dead. reporter: a massive explosion at a fertilizer plant rocked the town of -- [ pause ] [ no audio ] >> we apologize. we're having technical difficulties. but again, following the explosions in west, texas overnight that started as a fire in a fertilizer plant. then there was an explosion there and again it leveled properties for blocks around that area. >> i think we have erica ferrari ready now. let's go back to that with the

very latest in texas. reporter: a massive explosion at a fertilizer plant rocked the town of west, texas. >> the shock wave was unbelievable. it threw me down. >> reporter: officials say the town looks like a war zone with homes and businesses leveled. >> massive. just like iraq, just like the murray building in oklahoma city. >> reporter: authorities can't confirm a death toll, but say several firefighters and a police officer are feared dead. >> the mayor has been here earlier tonight. he is also a firefighter for this city. it has taken a toll on him because he knows that potentially he has lost some firefighters. >> reporter: as many as 200 people could be injured and rescue workers are still pulling people out of the rubble. ambulances and helicopters from around the region responded to help with evacuations. eugene horak and his wife, the roof of their house collapsed on them. >> he managed to pull the ceiling off me when i called out. >> thank god we're alive.

>> reporter: at a nearby nursing home the ceiling caved in trapping residents. people in the area rushed in to rescue the elderly victims. >> we was going to each room, there was sheetrock on top of the patients. i pulled out 16 people out of there. >> reporter: the entire town has been told to evacuate because of concerns about a secondary tank explosion and the smell of ammonia in the air. >> y'all need to get out of here. >> okay. >> that second tank is about to go, get out of here! >> reporter: the red cross is now on the scene working to find shelter for those forced out of their homes. erica ferrari for cbs news. >> and people who were injured in that explosion are being treated at half a dozen locations right now. a medical triage was set up on a football field near the explosion site. several ambulances were on scene there. and people who were injured were also rushed to a community center at the high school in a neighboring town and several area hospitals. embers shrapnel and debris rained down on west, texas as that fire raged on at the fertilizer plant. that explosion came about an

hour after that fire was reported at the facility. officials say there's no sign that the explosion was anything other than an industrial accident. it is 4:34 now. president obama planning to visit boston today to pay tribute to victims of the marathon bombings on monday. the death toll from monday's explosion remains at three with more than 170 injured including some who had to have their limbs amputated. surveillance video appears to be the focus of the investigation now and as susan mcginnis reports, images show at least one suspicious man just before the explosions. reporter: the scene of the second bomb that went off during monday's boston marathon may give us our first look at the suspected bomber. sources tell cbs news that security cameras at a lord & taylor store captured a man leaving a bag in the area just before the blast. the suspect is described as a young white man seen carrying a backpack and talking on a cell

phone. sources say he was wearing a black jacket, a gray hoodie and white baseball cap turned backwards on his head. just after the first bomb went off, the suspect left the scene. moments later, the second bomb detonated. investigators are also looking at cell phone records hoping to match one of the calls to the man seen in the video. >> there were people with their clothes burning off. >> reporter: karen and her husband john felt the first blast while waiting for their daughter to call to finish the marathon. the bomb tore through john's legs. >> my husband kept saying, my leg, my leg. i said -- and then the second explosion hit. >> reporter: nicole and the other runners were stopped just before the finish line. >> all i knew is that my family was at the finish line so i just started running and trying to find everybody. >> reporter: karen says her husband is recovering but is still unable to speak. she says she's received support from family and strangers. >> we were sitting in the waiting room yesterday, and strangers were coming up to us

and saying we are so sorry. >> reporter: about a third of those injured in attack remain in the hospital. it appears a company in fremont made the batteries that were used to make those bombs. photos show the battery attached to some black and red wires through a broken plastic cap. the manufacturer's name, tenergy, as you can see clearly visible there. a company spokesman told kpix 5 they are just stunned. >> horrified, appalled, appalled and shocked. these batteries are largely used for toys, rc cars and trucks. and to see it used in such a way, just horrifying. >> as you heard, tenergy says the batteries are common in power packs for remote- controlled toys. it can be purchased almost any u.s. hobby store as well as online. an 11-year-old boy from martinez who was injured in the

explosions is now recovering from a successful surgery according to a family friend. aaron hern has a severe shrapnel wound on his leg in addition to several minor injuries. doctors finally removed a breathing tube yesterday after a second operation and aaron has reportedly spoken a little bit with family members. several businesses in martinez are holding fundraisers to help pay for his care. cbs news will have a special report on the president's remarks in boston at 8:00 this morning our time and as always, we have continuing coverage on kpix 5 and kpix.com. we have some good news this morning because the weather is fantastic. not only today but down the road too i guess, right? >> the bad news is lawrence is not here to deliver are. >> what? >> it's his birthday. >> auspicious day in san francisco! we'll be talking about that later. first what's going on around the bay area this morning. clear skies, light offshore winds as a result. not bad this morning, 40s and 50s. 44 in santa rosa, 52 in san

francisco, 47 in san jose, and 45 at livermore. 48 out at travis air force base in fairfield. a few low clouds off the north coast and along the shoreline. whether that was real or not it's hard to say because most locations are reporting clear skies. today we'll warm up. last night 7:00 we were 3 to 6 degrees warmer than we were at 7:00 the previous night. today we are going to warm up another three to seven, as well. san francisco yesterday at 65 degrees. today we'll hit 69. 77 in san jose. 8 degrees warmer than it was yesterday. concord hit 78. 77 at livermore. santa rosa 76 degrees. expect things to warm up a bit today. this is a continuation of a warming trend that will last right through the end of the week and into next week, when numbers top out near monday in the mid-80s inland for the bay area. we'll fine-tune all this in a few minutes. let's get the latest now from frank and anne. it's 4:38. a san francisco police officer

shot and killed a stabbing suspect. the suspect called 911 last night saying he had just stabbed his brother-in-law in potrero him. officers arrived, and the suspect came out of the house with a hammer. officers ordered him to stop, but he kept coming after them. so they opened fire and killed him. >> he is the person that made the call and he is the brother- in-law of the person who was stabbed who has cut wounds or stab wounds to the head, chest and arms. what appears to be a long military-style knife or machete. >> the victim's injuries were severe but he is expected to survive. 4:39. and we have some video that oakland police want you to watch very closely. take a look at the man running in that video. he is on the left-hand side of your screen. police say he poised as a maintenance man to get inside an apartment building on 10th street in oakland's chinatown. once inside they say he tried to molest a 7-year-old girl.

the girl screamed and her mom came and confronted that man and the suspect took off running. police say he is in his 50s, but 6 feet tall and weighing about 160 pounds. also in oakland, jean quan unveiled her budget plan yesterday. the big news, more cops will be on the streets soon. the plan would add 4 new police academy awards. that means a force of nearly 700 by 2015. >> that means that in two years, we will get our police force back up to almost 700 officers. >> reporter: that still leaves us short, doesn't it? >> it does. that's not the police department that oakland deserves. but it is moving us in the right direction. >> mayor quan's budget proposal also calls for an end to years of furlough days. coming up why a south bay school did not expel students after sexual assault charges.

caught on camera the emergency landing that will tug at your heart when we come back.

pilot radioed that his plans he landing this plane is coming in for a landing in florida. you notice something missing? no landing gear. the 92-year-old pilot radioed that his plane was having problems with the landing gear t wasn't working so here he comes. despite that the experienced pilot glided the piper pa-30 right down on its belly for a nice smooth landing. he is 92! unbelievable. >> lots of experience. >> he has plenty of it. the pilot was the only one on board and believe it or not walked away without a scratch. new developments in the case of audrie pott. the saratoga teenager killed herself after allegedly being assaulted by her classmates. kpix 5's kiet do tell us us for the first time, saratoga school administrators are responding to the family's accusations that the school mishandled the whole thing. reporter: >> i have a lot of questions

about what they did and why they did it. it doesn't appear as if the family's best interests were served in some of the things they did. >> reporter: the school district broke its silence with this four-page written statement saying they couldn't discipline the boys because the drunken party happened at this saratoga home way off campus. what's more, there's no record of audrie reporting cyber bullying. and it's unclear if the photos of audrie's sexual assault were actually circulated on campus. her family met with the principal months ago but were unsuccessful in getting the boys expelled. >> we tried to appeal to the fact that the pictures being viewed at the school and the bullying and talking amongst themselves that all happened on campus. and so under the cyber bullying clause in the california education code, we believe that we had grounds to have them expelled under that and they still would not. >> it was announced by the principal that an investigation had been conducted by the school which indicated that bullying had nothing to do with

this. our investigation revealed the opposite. >> reporter: the district didn't give a clear explanation why principal paul robinson made those statements. audrie committed suicide after three boys allegedly sexually assaulted her while she was passed out and texted pictures that night. all this frustrates a woman whose daughter was bullied years ago. she survived suicide attempt, lived on life support for years and died yesterday. she says the school refused to let her come and talk about cyber bullying. >> saratoga wouldn't let me go two years ago even though there was parents' requests and civil rights people wanting to come free of charge. they are's just burying their head in the sand saying we don't have an issue, we don't have a problem. >> reporter: kiet do, kpix 5. >> the pott family has laid the legal groundwork to sue the district but they haven't yet officially filed a civil suit. as for the accused boys, they are not allowed on campus while they fight those sexual assault charges. some other headlines around the bay area on this thursday. school officials say a female

student will face disciplinary action for using a stun gun on a fellow classmate. it happened yesterday at the international studies academy here in san francisco. police say a 14-year-old boy and the girl who reportedly brought the stun gun got into a fight over the device and that's when the boy said he was zapped. concord police are investigating a smash-and-grab robbery at the macy's store at sun valley mall 9:00 last night. police say three suspects used a hammer to smash jewelry cases. investigators recovered the hammer from the ground just outside of the macy's there. they also recovered the getaway car in pleasant hill. time now is 4:46. and sure is a nice weather forecast. we have a lot bad news, but, boy, that's nice. >> lawrence is smart. he took the day off. >> yes, absolutely. a good day to hit the beach, too. >> absolutely. >> it's going to be great beach weather for the next five days. this weekend, actually, is going to be nice and so temperatures are going to be zooming to 80 and it just goes

north from there. as we start out your thursday morning, we'll be looking at mostly clear skies, temperatures as you head out to the car, we're estimating to mid-40s to low 50s. clear start to thursday morning. this afternoon we'll be looking for mostly sunny skies. sunny at the coast, bay and inland. inland will be 80 at the beach, 67 and right around the bay an average of about 73. all coming courtesy of high pressure that's building in over the eastern pacific and sending any moisture over the queen charlottes and british columbia but for us, as this ridge builds in, the heat is on in the bay area. first pretty good warm spell of the year, with things warmer everywhere from the beach to the very top of mount diablo. so look for sunshine today and temperatures nudging 80 degrees if you are heading out of the bay area, eureka has partly cloudy skies and 55. fresno and in sacramento, we'll look at readings in the mid- to upper 70s. out at tahoe, 54 degrees. and 66 at yosemite. and down at monterey, home of

the national weather service, 64. for us in the bay area, it's going to warm up today. 70s for the most part in fact south bay, 76 degrees at mountain view. 77 at santa clara. 77 morgan hill. los gatos 79. 78 at cupertino. out in the east bay, brentwood nudges 80 degrees. same for antioch, 77 at napa. beautiful day for the wine country. and at the aptly named pleasanton, 78 degrees. up in the north bay the numbers will be in the mid-70s. santa rosa 76. and bodega bay where alfred hitchcock in 1962 shot "the birds" 65 degrees today. 65 for stinson beach, 64 at daly city. he shot that with a film camera, not anything else. five-day forecast, numbers in the 80s by monday around the bay, going to be nice. a few low clouds nudged back to the shoreline tomorrow morning. other than that high and dry numbers reaching mid-80s by the early part of next week. so the heat's on in the bay area. and while weather looks good, traffic may be another matter. but elizabeth is here to tell

us about that. >> thanks, brian. we have some breaking news that we're watching now around downtown san francisco. the same area where the big great earthquake ceremonies are supposed to happen later on this morning. we have a lot of police activity and streets are closed off. you're looking near intersection of market and 3rd right now. market is blocked off between kearney and geary streets. they are telling folks to stay indoors there's a hotel in that area. a bomb squad is on scene. a reporter there has been seeing dogs sniffing garbage cans. everyone is on heightened alert with everything going on in boston and now texas. there may be some delays on some bart and muni lines. we're told muni is being turned around in the area heading back towards the embarcadero. now, right now bart is stopping at the montgomery station. so again, this is the area 3rd and market. sounds like several blocks around that intersection in downtown. here's a live look at the silicon valley commute. otherwise, we're off to a quiet

start everywhere on your major freeways. this is a live look at 880/237. checking some bridges around the bay area now, here's a live look at the san mateo bridge commute direction westbound 92 drive time light, 14 minutes out of hayward. a similar story over at the bay bridge. they have not turned the metering lights on yet so, obviously, no delay getting into san francisco. and now taking a check of the golden gate bridge, where it looks like they're doing some lane changes. you can see the crews out there hard at work this morning making more southbound lanes available to commuters but for right now, both directions of 101 are moving at top speeds. that's a check of your "timesaver traffic." back to you guys. >> thank you. the fbi says a man has been arrested in connection with those tainted letters addressed to president obama and mississippi senator roger wicker. that suspect is identified as 45-year-old paul kevin curtis of corinth, mississippi. his cousin says curtis felt the government had not treated hill well. investigators are waiting for additional test results before they confirm that the letters

contained the deadly poison ricin. preliminary tests show they did. security systems intercepted those letters though before they could harm anyone. a bipartisan plan to expand background checks for gun purchases has failed to advance the u.s. senate. the vote was 54-46 yesterday in favor, but 60 votes were needed for the amendment to be adopted. president obama called it a shameful day for congress. >> there were no coherent arguments as to why we wouldn't do this. it came down to politics, the worry that that vocal minority of gun owners would come after them in future elections. so they caved to the pressure. and they started looking for an excuse, any excuse, to vote no. >> five democrats were among those who opposed the plan. both california senators voted in favor. former arizona congresswoman gabby giffords echoed the president's criticism of the senate vote. she wrote an op. ed.

piece for the "new york times" accusing the senators who blocked the measure of cowardice. she was shot in the head two years ago during an event in her home state of arizona. the stock market is on pace for its biggest weekly loss of the year just a week after hitting an all-time high. stocks fell after bank of america reported lackluster quarterly profits. the dow shed 138 points while the nasdaq plunged nearly 60. for the first time in nearly two years, apple stock price fell below $400. a drop in demand for ipod and iphone products led investors to sell off that stock. shares fell from an all-time high in september of $705 to close at $402 yesterday. 4:52. coming up, realtime validation. why one bay area city wants to start counting cyclists. >> and the san francisco waterfront lit up to celebrate a new tenant. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

we have a pollen count today which favors mulberry, oak and grass. watch out. >> and we're still watching this breaking news in downtown san francisco. a lot of police on scene investigating something suspicious. we know the bomb squad is out there and they're telling people to avoid the intersection near 3rd and market. muni and bart may be impacted. much more coming up. commuting in san francisco is about to get a little easier if you traveling by bicycle. the city is going to install its first realtime bike

barometer on market street. the digital display counts the number of people in the bike lane at any given time. bike riding is up 71% in the last five years and on market street alone, it's increased 98%. >> we want people to be able to get around more affordably in a more healthy greenway. and biking is the number one way to do that. so as we see these growing numbers of people biking we know the city is investing properly and should keep investing more in more biking. >> the bike barometer is expected to be installed by the end of the month. paper or plastic will not be an option in stores in much of san mateo county starting monday. new laws take effect in dozens of cities in unincorporated areas banning plastic bags at pharmacies, grocery stores and convenience stores and other stores. carry your own bag. you will have to pay a time

apiece for paper bags. the exploratorium reopened in its new home right on the bay. last night people gathered at pier 15 to watch the multimedia performance including a big light show. ♪[ music ] >> i think it's great. i love the location of the new exploratorium right on the water. really wonderful. >> the new exploratorium is three times the size of the old building at the palace of fine arts with 150 new exhibits for visitors to touch, play and invent. don't forget to check out the free outdoor exhibits like the fog bridge which connects the two piers. cool. >> yes, the fog bridge cracks me up because you can look at any of our bridges most of the time and see the same thing shrouded in fog. 4:57. coming up, tackling crime in oakland. why neighbors will soon start seeing more cops on the streets. >> and devastation in texas after a fertilizer plant explodes. why evacuations are still in effect for nearby communities.

>> reporter: and breaking news. san francisco's earthquake remembrance ceremony has been moved to union square because of police activity in downtown. i'll have a live interview with the police chief coming up. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

th >> your realtime captioner: linda marie macdonald. tragedy in texas. a giant explosion and fire outside a fertilizer plant. the search for victims and answers. >> and a breakthrough in boston. the search for the marathon bomber turns up a face. >> good morning. it is thursday, april 18. i'm anne makovec. michelle griego is off. >> hi, everyone. i'm frank mallicoat. it is 5:00. [ sound of explosion ] >> officials think between five and 15 people are dead from a massive